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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Virginia 4-H had 2 teams go to Arabian Nationals. E was on the B team with only 3 members. The A team was High overall, reasons, halter and performance. One of the members was high in everything also and won the saddle.(I still have mine from 20+ years ago). E was 19th overall and in the top 25 in most categories and her team was 3rd in halter. Congratulations to The Virginia State 4-H Horse Judging Team!

Monday, October 24, 2011

I was tired of carrying my camera in the fanny pack so I left it after lunch. The 17 mile 2nd loop was very similar ground as the first loop.

We crossed the finish line and the horses pulsed down at 4:02. The ride started at 9 am. (6 hours of ride time, 50 min. hold and 10 min. vet check) We placed 38th and 39th. Our times were tied but J somehow got the higher placing. 48 horses started and 46 finished. I think we were the fastest of the non Arabian group. And the horses got all A's on there final vet checks. I was able to do 35 miles here in the same time as 30 miles during the Virginia Highland Challenge in August.

We were lazy the first night and just tied the horses to the trailer. ALWAYS A MISTAKE when you are sleeping or trying to sleep in the trailer. So the second night I went ahead and made a picket line. I think Jessica was a little tuckered out.

J even had a soft moment and gave her a horse treat. The ride home was uneventful.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

We made it back all in one piece from the Sand Hills of South Carolina, so of course I am counting it as another success! I was a little off on the ride distance, it was actually a 35 mile ride not 30. This is apparently very important in the endurance world because it adds 1:15 min. to the allowable completion time which then gave us 8 1/2 hours to complete the 35 mile.(this included the 50 min hold and 2 vet checks) There was a little scare for J at the pre ride vet check when they said Jessica was off on her left front. This was something she has never had an issue with and I didn't think she was off, she always just nods her head when she trots. They left it up to us whether to ride or not so since I was use to how she moved I thought it would be ok.

The weather was beautiful, temp probably in the 40's for the morning then getting up high 60's low 70's by the afternoon.

No, J was not going the wrong way. We had to check in with the timer 15 min. prior to the start, then watch all of the high strung Arabians with their nervous energy.

Hank, on the other hand was his usual calm, cool and collected self. And thank you Aimee for letting me use your real endurance saddle, it worked great. (But I did lose that springing feel to the padded stirrups after about 2 hours.)

We let most of the craziness go first and started about 30 seconds later. With the pace they set the lead horses are pretty much gone in 30 seconds. This was my view for most of the race - Jessica and J in front through the pine trees,

Jessica and J in front on the sandy road,

Jessica and J in front through the hard wood forest. As you can see the trails were great, not a rock in sight, gradual slopes, most areas wide enough to ride side by side or pass easily. There was lots of deep sand which we are not use to but the horses seemed to handle it well. Jessica was raring to go and J was holding her back most of the first 18 mile loop.

There was one optional water crossing about 1 1/2 miles from the vet check along the end of a small pond. Jessica decided this would be a great time to cool off she she laid down right in the middle of it. J was very unhappy about having wet feet for the rest of the ride but he said he could feel her instantly get cooler.

We came into the vet check in 2 hours 57 min. and they pulse down right away. There was no issue with Jessica's soundness and both horses got all A's from the vet. Because it was still slightly cool and we didn't want any cramping we kept blankets over their rumps. They were both good at drinking and eating and J and I had time to eat a little lunch.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion...

Friday, October 14, 2011

J's dad provided some timely assistance. He's not trying to remain anonymous, he just can't breathe the dust from the barn.

I think this was a particularly nice group of goats. The dogs did a good job keeping them alive and we ended up with 48 to sell. We kept all of the old nannies (33) and 8 of the kids which included Bunny.

Friday, October 7, 2011

There hasn't been any bee activity for a long time. Awhile back I decided to take the lid off the hive and - no bees- not even any honey. Looks like when they swarmed twice that weakened the hive and it either lost the queen or the last group left later.

J will be taking the hive back to the man that gave it to us. Maybe he'll fix it up and we can try again.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

J was really disappointed that Jessica was lame this summer and unable to go on the Virginia Highlands Challenge endurance ride with me and Hank. We looked for another ride to go on and found one in South Carolina. We have been riding lately with that goal in mind.

Today we road on some nearby trails, about 12 1/2 miles in 2 1/2 hours. We thought this was pretty good until I read on someone else's blog about the North American record holder of 100 miles in 6:58. I just keep saying "to finish is to win." Surely we can do 30 mile in 6 hours on flat sand.